Rachael should receive special recognition for her role as a volunteer, as volunteering has given her the opportunity to successfully turn her life around, learn new skills and build a pathway to future employment. Rachael stands out as an inspiration to others due to the many challenges she has overcome over the past several years. Prior to volunteering, Rachael became very ill with deteriorating ill-health. As a consequence, she faced some very emotional and physical challenges, whilst also continuing to be a loving and supportive mother to her three sons, one of whom is affected with ADHD. Regardless of these extremely difficult times, she became determined to turn her life around and overcome the spiral of increasing ill-health. Rachel, being a very positive person, decided to pursue a new career within the Criminal Justice System, due to her lifelong passion to help ex-offenders resettle into society as law-abiding citizens. Whilst battling on/off illness, Rachel still managed to graduate from Plymouth University in September 2017, with a degree in Sociology. During her time at University, Rachael found the true value in volunteering, dedicating some of her busy time to an offenders resettlement garden project in Dartington, called LandWorks. Whilst bringing a ray of sunshine to the many prisoners who helped at LandWorks, Rachael was able to take all the positive aspects of volunteering and combat her chronic ill-health by focusing on a positive and more healthier future. Rachel’s fun personality and infectious energy is like a breath of fresh air for everyone around her. Using her imaginative and creative talents, Rachel was able to muck-in alongside prisoners and encourage them to think imaginatively when designing new gardens for planting. Rachael had an enormous impact on prisoner’s lives at LandWorks, by helping them see a positive future, away from offending behavior. After finishing her volunteering at LandWorks, Rachael has continued to volunteer and today volunteers with CASS+. She has proven to be a great asset to CASS+, as her hard working ethics means that she has provided a high standard of support to many CASS+ clients who are involved in the Criminal Justice system. As a result, Rachael has made a positive impact on many people’s lives, helping them to resolve issues with housing and welfare benefits, and helping them to gain access to other support services, for substance misuse, domestic violence, and debt. The support that Rachael has offered has reduced difficult challenges and lessened the stress on people so that they can focus their priorities within the Magistrates Court. As a result of the positive effect Rachel has had on her clients, her case load has increased and she volunteers her time above and beyond what the organisation expects from her. Rachael is an inspiration to others, as she has overcome many challenges with chronic ill-health, whilst still caring for her disabled son and being a great mum to her sons! Volunteering was a role that she never contemplated possible when she was initially diagnosed with ill health. However, since then, Rachael has been on an amazing journey as a result of volunteering, inspiring family, and friends, who have also gone into volunteering roles themselves. Today, Rachael’s health and wellbeing has improved considerably and she continues to enjoy her volunteering role with CASS+. She has overcome major obstacles in her life to carry out her volunteering role and by turning her life around she now has the skills and confidence to explore her own pathways into paid employment.

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